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This Week in Congress! Congress will recess next week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. This week, the House voted on eight measures including resolutions (H.J. Res. 130; H.J. Res. 131; S.J. Res. 80) to disapprove of regulations issued by the Bureau of Land Management during the last weeks of the Biden administration; two bills…

The Longest Government Shutdown Ends! The longest government shutdown in history has ended. Last Monday evening, the Senate took up the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) (H.R. 5371). Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) offered an amendment to substitute new text to incorporate three FY 2026 appropriations bills (Agriculture, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs), continue funding for…

Legislative Action Planned for the Remainder of This Year As noted above, Congress is out of session next week for the Thanksgiving holiday, and the legislative calendar contemplates the year-end holiday recess will begin on December 18 in the House/December 19 in the Senate.  That leaves just four weeks to tackle a long to-do list,…

New House Party Ratios Last week, Adelita Grijalva (D-TX) was sworn in as the new Representative for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District.  Party ratios in the House are now 219 Republicans and 214 Democrats, and Speaker Johnson (R-LA) continues to hold a two-vote majority. Return to the ASAtoday page to read more articles

Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Includes Change Order Reform Reform regarding change orders in federal contracting is part of the ongoing, comprehensive “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul” (RFO) initiated by a series of Executive Orders in early 2025. This initiative, led by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council), aims to…

U.S. Department of Transportation Revised DBE Program The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) significantly revised its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program as of October 3, 2025, eliminating race- and gender-based presumptions and requiring individualized proof of disadvantage.Here’s a detailed breakdown of the key changes introduced by the Interim Final Rule (IFR): Major Structural Changes Presumption…

Modifying the Scope of Reciprocal Tariffs Announced on April 2, 2025! Last Friday, November 14, President Trump signed an Executive Order modifying the scope of the reciprocal tariffs that he first announced on April 2, 2025. Specifically, certain qualifying agricultural products will no longer be subject to those tariffs. Per the White House, “given the…

Death of the U.S. Penny! The American penny was officially discontinued last week after 232 years of circulation, marking the end of its use in an era increasingly dominated by digital payment methods such as Venmo and Apple Pay. First introduced in 1793 during Alexander Hamilton’s tenure as Secretary of the Treasury, the penny has…

This Week in Congress! Congress returned to session this week to reopen the government. This past weekend, Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) kept the chamber in session and by Sunday, the Senate voted in favor of a motion to reconsider the House-passed CR. This vote permitted leadership to bring that measure to the floor with…

Status of FY 2026 Government Funding Unless every Senator agrees to a time agreement, the process could take several days to pass in that chamber. Assuming that it eventually does, it will then go to the House.  Republican leadership advised that votes are expected in the House later this week.  The assumption is that a…